Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Harris Williams & Co., a middle market investment bank focused on the advisory needs of clients worldwide, announces the sale of Northwestern Management Services, LLC (NMS) doing business as Gentle Dental (Gentle Dental), a leader in the dental service organization (DSO) industry, to Linden Capital Partners (Linden). Gentle Dental was a portfolio company of The Beekman Group, LLC (TBG). Harris Williams & Co. acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Gentle Dental. The transaction closed on October 5, 2012 and was led by James Clark, Geoff Smith and David Allebach.

“Gentle Dental has established itself as a clear leader in the attractive South Florida dentistry market through its commitment to quality, operational excellence and results-driven approach to physician and practice support. In addition, this transaction demonstrates investors’ continued strong interest in the DSO sector driven by investors’ desire to find scalable business models in markets positioned to benefit from positive demographic trends,” said James Clark, a managing director in Harris Williams & Co.’s Healthcare & Life Sciences (HCLS) Group.

Gentle Dental is the largest and fastest growing DSO organization in the South Florida market. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Boca Raton, FL, Gentle Dental provides convenient “one-stop” general, multi-specialty and cosmetic dental care throughout 21 densely-positioned, upscale, retail-based facilities operating under the well-known Gentle Dental brand. TBG acquired majority interest in NMS in December 2007, when NMS managed 10 operating facilities.

TBG is a New York-based private equity firm dedicated to bringing financial and operational resources to lower-middle market service companies. TBG’s team consists of experienced private equity professionals, as well as a select group of industry operating partners who are leading executives in TBG’s targeted industry segments. This industry partner approach is the cornerstone of TBG’s investment strategy – creating value through accelerating growth in partnership with lower-middle market management teams.

Linden is a Chicago-based private equity firm focused exclusively on leveraged buyouts in the healthcare and life science industries. Linden’s investment strategy is comprised of three elements: i) healthcare and life science industry specialization, ii) integrated private equity and operating expertise, and iii) strategic corporate relationships. Linden invests in middle market companies across the healthcare spectrum, including medical products, healthcare services, and distribution.

The firm’s HCLS Group focuses on transactions across the spectrum of healthcare market segments. For more information, contact Turner Bredrup, James Clark or Cheairs Porter at +1 (804) 648-0072 or Todd Morris at +1 (415) 288-4260.

Investment banking services are provided by Harris Williams LLC, a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC, and Harris Williams & Co. Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Harris Williams & Co. is a trade name under which Harris Williams LLC and Harris Williams & Co. Ltd conduct business.